If you don’t already know this about me, for some years I’ve been heavily into the Civil War. It all started when I was given some artifacts and documents of a great-great grandfather, Darius Wetzel, who fought in the west under Grant and...

If you haven’t already heard, Astronomy magazine will participate in a large star party event in New York City on October 20, 2012, designed to allow thousands of people to get their first glimpse through a telescope. This major event to be held...

Many of you know the Astronomy Foundation (AF), the outreach group that promotes events to spread the joy of astronomy, whose board consists of various executives from the telescope industry. It‘s my distinct pleasure as president of the group to...

Many thanks to all of you who submitted such fantastic essays in the Brian May/Queen “A Kind of Magic” Contest. Brian and I asked you to submit an essay on what you would study if you could magically return to school and focus on an astronomy...

I’m delighted to announce that experienced sky observer and longtime amateur astronomer Erika Rix of Liberty Hill, Texas, will join Astronomy magazine as a columnist beginning with the January 2013 issue. Erika is a wonderfully talented artist whose...

I just returned to Milwaukee over the weekend after participating in a fascinating conference in Alberta, Canada. As I mentioned last week, I went to Waterton Lakes National Park far south of Calgary, near the United States border, to visit with 15 astronomers...

Planetary scientist Alan Stern has a name long familiar to readers of Astronomy . He’s a longtime contributor and a member of the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. Stern has been involved in many space missions, such as the New Horizons...

Tomorrow morning, I’ll leave for an important science meeting being held at Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. The Colossus meeting will bring together about 20 distinguished astronomers, engineers, physicists, and opticians to discuss...